National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 1117 - 1048: Dog Head Gold

During the time when Liu Jinghui began applying for technical investigation intervention, Jiang Yuan started studying Corpse No. 3.

The mutilation level of Corpse No. 3 was even higher—missing the head, fingers, and toes. Although the remaining parts could be used to determine basics like age, height, and gender, obtaining more precise answers was far more challenging than it had been for Corpse No. 1.

And Jiang Yuan had already spent several days studying Corpse No. 1.

At his level of expertise in forensic anthropology, it was no longer as simple as using the pelvis to determine gender or the long bones to estimate height.

The sternum, vertebrae, and even clavicles could all be used to deduce information about age, height, and gender. Initially, these studies were aimed at solving dismemberment cases. But on a more advanced level, it was akin to solving one problem with six different methods. Although all six methods pointed to the same result, the level of detail naturally varied.

If the problem was big enough, akin to a question with three sub-parts, then it actually represented three distinct stages toward the same goal.

Employing multiple types of bones for analysis not only improved accuracy but also made it easier to uncover information about the deceased’s life.

In short, the deeper the understanding of a single bone, the more inferences could be drawn.

But on all fronts, Corpse No. 3 was less favorable. From a police perspective, it was an exceptionally difficult corpse to analyze.

The same was true for Jiang Yuan.

However, Jiang Yuan was only stuck for a single day... Liu Jinghui then brought out a chart.

Time-space intersection was already well-established technology for technical investigations. Especially after the pandemic, the speed of its advancement and widespread use in tracing close contacts accelerated significantly. Calling it both effective and efficient wasn’t an exaggeration.

Related technologies, such as electronic fences, could even, in some cases, surpass mobile phone barriers to pinpoint when a person passed a certain location. Combined with surveillance, facial recognition, and gait recognition, it became remarkably easy to identify an individual with no counter-surveillance experience.

After reporting Jiang Yuan’s name, the technical investigation team took just half a day to provide Liu Jinghui with a list of 178 eligible people.

After further filtering by Liu Jinghui, only 67 names remained when the list was handed to Jiang Yuan.

"Xu Li doesn’t interact with many people during his regular work hours, but he occasionally comes out to stock goods. That’s when he has more interactions," Liu Jinghui explained to Jiang Yuan, his demeanor not the least bit uneasy. In fact, he looked quite excited.

Narrowing down the real culprit from a pile of suspects—this was exactly the sort of thing Sherlock Holmes would do!

Especially when you had a glittering, dazzling Watson by your side, the process became even more invigorating.

Gently stroking the list with one hand, Liu Jinghui said, "I have a short-term plan and a long-term plan for filtering this list."

Jiang Yuan waved over Wang Chuanxing, who was in the corner of the office, asking him to take notes, and then nodded at Liu Jinghui to proceed.

Liu Jinghui explained, "The long-term plan is simple. We follow up the movements of everyone on this list at the time of the homicides, which should allow us to exclude most of them. Those remaining would become the primary targets for investigation. If necessary, we could refine the analysis of the crime times or investigate from the angle of the murder weapons and crime scenes."

With confidence, Liu Jinghui added, "The short-term plan is even simpler. These days, few people are separated from their phones for long. However, the perpetrator, daring enough to provoke the police, must be familiar with some investigative methods. I believe that during the times of the murders of Victims No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, the culprit might deliberately part ways with their phone. By cross-referencing the list for such records, we could possibly find something significant."

At this point, Wang Chuanxing chimed in, "This list is derived from time-space intersections. If the culprit left their phone behind... oh, you mean that this list represents those moments when the perpetrator observed and interacted with Xu Li? But during the actual murders, they might have refrained from carrying their phone?"

"That’s roughly the idea," Liu Jinghui slightly nodded. "The suspect might even have a second phone or deliberately avoided carrying a phone when interacting with Xu Li. But all of these behaviors are risky, and mistakes are likely to occur, making this line of investigation valuable."

"Agreed." Jiang Yuan didn’t require a plan with absolute certainty.

If the investigation were being led by Xu Taining, achieving near-perfect certainty would indeed be necessary. After all, the financial costs of Xu Taining’s operations were exorbitant. Even in a provincial capital city like Changyang City, the prospect of expending such resources on a case and failing to solve it would be unacceptable.

As for feasibility, it could be understood in comparison to a top-tier commercial filmmaker. High-risk investments would grant significant autonomy, but only if backed by a solid track record of success.

Returning to the current situation, Liu Jinghui’s approach didn’t require such rigorous justifications. Screening dozens of people was not complicated enough to warrant the term "screening"; it was more aptly described as straightforward investigation.

Even if Liu Jinghui wanted to be more meticulous, the quantity and complexity involved were typical tasks for a criminal investigation team.

With Jiang Yuan’s approval, Liu Jinghui immediately mobilized the officers.

This case belonged to Ningtai County itself, meaning they didn’t need the permission and cooperation of external law enforcement teams like when working out of town.

Wu Junhao’s riot police unit and Liu Wenkai’s criminal investigation unit had long been eager to act. Once Liu Jinghui assigned tasks, they sprang into action immediately.

Wu Junhao’s riot police unit truly mobilized to implement the long-term plan, interviewing everyone on the list and recording their activities on the day in question in written statements.

Liu Wenkai’s criminal investigation unit pursued the short-term plan, first obtaining results from the technical investigators and directly probing the "key" suspects identified from the filtering process. This investigation was much more detailed, employing technical methods alongside sending detectives to conduct home visits. For those whose suspicious status couldn’t be ruled out, surveillance teams were deployed.

The two approaches slightly overlapped, but Liu Jinghui didn’t mind. Overlapped suspects inherently had a higher level of suspicion. Repeating investigations or changing the investigators was, in itself, a valid investigation model.

In the following days, the meeting room on the ninth floor remained brightly lit and abuzz with activity.

The list of 67 rapidly narrowed down to 23, then 17, 12, 6, 3... until it hit zero.

"All suspects have been ruled out." While the outcome didn’t entirely take Liu Jinghui by surprise, he was still a little caught off guard upon receiving confirmation of it.

"Should we reopen investigations on key suspects?" Huang Qiangmin, having received the news and arrived, neither complained nor offered consolation. Instead, he directly expressed his support for Liu Jinghui.

Although slightly tempted, Liu Jinghui slowly shook his head, replying, "The investigations have already been extremely thorough. Doing them again wouldn’t make much difference—the suspects eliminated are all excluded unless our lines of inquiry were flawed. Otherwise, this means the culprit isn’t within the scope we’ve defined."

This was one of the most frustrating scenarios in investigations. After meticulously investigating a large group of suspects, all turn out to be cleared. Starting over would be akin to starting from scratch.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Jinghui turned to Jiang Yuan and asked, "Should we take a fresh approach from Corpse No. 3 to confirm the victim’s identity and then search for commonalities?"

"Corpse No. 3 is tougher to handle. To confirm their identity, we might end up needing a wide-scale screening," Jiang Yuan replied after having studied Corpse No. 3 for several days, adding, "Corpse No. 2’s identity has already been confirmed but remains out of contact for now. Corpse No. 3 could very well end with the same result."

Jiang Yuan was currently investigating a local case and wouldn’t resort to initiating a city-wide screening unless they’d reached a dead end.

Even Liu Jinghui had to admit his glittering, dazzling Watson made a good point.

Of the three corpses discovered so far, Corpse No. 1 remained the most valuable, providing the most leads.

Compared to the latter two, Corpse No. 1 seemed to lack the same level of randomness—at least, that was Liu Jinghui’s reasoning at this stage.

Frowning slightly, Liu Jinghui thought to himself, without new leads, the deductions would need to become even more refined.

Just then, Jiang Yuan remarked, "Perhaps we can focus on the murderer’s techniques."

"You mean their knife skills?" Liu Jinghui immediately understood—this was not uncommon in criminal cases—and quickly followed up, "Do you think the murderer has a medical background or something similar?"

"Yes, their knife skills are extremely proficient. Either they have a medical or forensic background, or they’ve worked as a butcher or chef," Jiang Yuan paused before continuing, "Without three to five years of consistent practice, it wouldn’t be possible to dissect the bodies with such precision."

Dismemberment is a typical hands-on skill; it’s not something one can learn from merely reading books. Only through repeated practice could someone achieve the precise incisions and smooth cuts observed on the three bodies.

Lightly nodding, Liu Jinghui said, "We previously assumed the suspect had time-space intersections with the victims. If we abandon this assumption, I think we can expand the suspect pool to include people within both Xu Li’s professional and personal environments. This would significantly widen the scope."

This essentially amounted to a vocational background check. Even if the defined pool of people was large, the cost in terms of time and manpower wouldn’t be exorbitant. Liu Jinghui promptly turned back to his work.

However, once individuals with relevant backgrounds were identified, they would necessitate further, in-depth investigation by the detectives.

It was then that a man named Bian Yizhang came into the task force’s view.

"Bian Yizhang. Tobacco and liquor store owner. Regularly employs two staff members. His store is located just 50 meters from the supermarket where Xu Li worked. He has previously engaged in private butchering, served as a community watch officer, volunteered for charity work, and regularly participates in social welfare activities. According to technical analysis, he often carries two phones, both of which are frequently powered off or left unattended."

Based on earlier stages of the investigation, and solely from the information read out by Wang Chuanxing, it would appear that Bian Yizhang was entirely above suspicion. Wu Junhao had even spoken with him face-to-face.

However, at this stage of the investigation, Bian Yizhang’s seemingly ordinary identities and behaviors now gleamed like gold to the task force members.